Metropolis

New York City Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe said hundreds of trees were down, and tens of thousands had been damaged.

"This was a particularly nasty and quirky storm, the likes of which we've never had before," he said in an interview. "Many of them were in full leaf. All of that heavy snow piled on the leaves and added extra weight."

The damage to the city's trees, he said, was comparable to that caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

Across the region, fallen trees were partly to blame for millions of power outages, disrupted transit service and school cancellations through Monday. More than 20 school districts in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York State have canceled Monday classes because of road closures and downed power lines.

ENLARGE

Workers clear a tree in Cornwall on the Hudson on Sunday.
Associated Press

Downed trees crushed sections of the third rail that powers Metro North trains north of North White Plains, shutting down service on parts of the Wassaic branch, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. New Jersey Transit said rail service would remain suspended Monday on the Montclair-Boonton and Morris & Essex Lines, including the Gladstone Branch. In Connecticut, partial train service will resume Monday on the Metro-North's Waterbury Branch.

Mr. Benepe said he could not yet say how many trees had been damaged in the city's parks. His first priority, he said, was removing trees from streets, then houses, then cars. City parks remained open, though city officials urged people to stay away from trees, and watch out for broken, hanging branches. By noon Sunday, the parks department had received 1,800 calls from city residents reporting downed trees and branches, Mr. Benepe said.

More than half of the calls were from Staten Island; of the remaining calls, half were from the Bronx, Mr. Benepe said.

Brooklyn and Queens have more trees than any other borough but were largely spared the arboreal carnage seen in Manhattan.

An autumn snowstorm Saturday blanketed the Northeast, killing at least four people and leaving millions without power. Meteorologist Eric Holthaus explains what caused this rare event and whether it suggests a tough winter ahead.

In a small section of Central Park across the street from the Plaza Hotel, every tree was sheered clean of its branches and leaves. Park employees spent the afternoon using high-powered leaf blowers to clear debris from the sidewalk, while others pushed large branches through mulchers.

Tyler Schell and Linda Gauthier, friends from Toronto visiting New York for the first time, said they were leaving Sunday evening and did not want to miss a stroll through the park. "Come hell or highwater, I was coming today," she said. "It's incredibly sad to see so many trees down. This is common for us in Canada. Sorry about that. I think we brought it."

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.